ABS-CBN, TV5 drop merger deal

By Aric John Sy Cua  and Arlie O. Calalo 

RIVAL networks ABS-CBN and TV5 have called off the investment deal they signed earlier following an initiative in the House of Representatives to have the agreement investigated.

Competing cable companies Sky Cable and Cignal have also terminated their deal.

In a statement it released on Thursday, ABS-CBN said: "In disclosures to both the Philippine Stock Exchange and the Securities Exchange Commission today, Sky Vision Corporation ('Sky Vision'), ABS-CBN Corporation, Lopez Inc. and Cignal Cable Corporation ('Cignal Cable') announced that they have mutually agreed to terminate the sale and purchase agreement dated August 10, 2022."

The agreement involved the acquisition by Cignal Cable of a 38.88-percent equity interest in Sky Cable and the subscription by Cignal Cable to an "exchangeable debt instrument to be issued by Sky Vision and the proposed acquisition by Cignal Cable of a convertible note issued by Sky Cable."

ABS-CBN said that the termination was formalized through a memorandum of agreement.

In a separate disclosure, the two networks said they have "mutually agreed to terminate" their agreement covering the proposed acquisition by ABS-CBN of 34.99-percent equity interest in TV5 and the subscription by ABS-CBN to a "convertible note" to be issued by TV5.

TV5 has been broadcasting some ABS-CBN shows after the franchise of the former media flagship of the Lopezes was not renewed in 2020.

The two networks then revealed they were working out some kind of a merger.

Sagip Rep. Rodante Marcoleta, who was at the forefront of the campaign to deny ABS-CBN a new franchise, promptly declared he will have the House investigate the deal.

Another critic of the merger, lawyer Lorenzo "Larry" Gadon, said on Thursday TV5 might have eventually realized that the agreement could jeopardize the company's future.

"What cannot be done directly, cannot be done indirectly," Gadon told The Manila Times.

"The TV5-ABS-CBN deal on the sale of 35 percent stockholdings may cause the revocation of the franchise of TV5 or may cause the denial of its application for a renewal once its franchise expires," he said.

Gadon ran for senator last May under the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, the party of the father of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., former president Ferdinand E. Marcos.

He said that because the ABS-CBN is tainted with foreign funds, "the whole equity of TV5 will also become tainted with foreign funds."

Such a merger will also violate the constitutional requirement that a mass media organization must be fully Filipino owned, he said.

PH gets recognition anew; Palawan topped the 21st Wanderlust awards

by Jun Marcos Tadios, MB

Palawan was hailed as the Most Desirable Island in the world at the recently concluded 21st Wanderlust Travel Awards in the United Kingdom (UK), the Department of Tourism (DOT) disclosed on Thursday, Nov. 10.

DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said the new recognition of Palawan reflects the beauty and competitiveness of the Philippines in word spectacle. 

photo: DOT

The award was given on Wednesday, Nov. 9, by the prestigious Wanderlust travel magazine.

Cebu was also nominated this year as the Most Desirable Region (Rest of the World) by the award-giving body.

“On behalf of the Department of Tourism, we thank the readers of Wanderlust Magazine for their love and support for the Philippines!” said Frasco, adding, “The recognition reflects the effort of the government to revive the tourism industry.”

Frasco vowed that the DOT and its attached agencies would continue to herald the beauty and rich culture of the Filipino people.

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“Rest assured that we will continue with our mission to herald the Philippines and the Filipino brand to the world and to ensure the continued sustainability of our islands,” she noted.

The Philippine Tourism Board, through the Philippine Department of Tourism-Central Visayas Office, also placed 6th among hundreds of entries in the Wanderlust Sustainability Initiative Category for its Dive7 Program.

Earlier this year, Conde Nast Travel (CNT) also named the Philippines among the 40 most beautiful countries worldwide, specifically citing the remarkable cave system of the Puerto Princesa Underground River, the mysteriously uniform Chocolate Hills of Bohol, and the panoramic views of the Banaue and Cordilleras Rice Terraces.

The following month, the renowned Travel + Leisure magazine also named the country’s tourist magnets Boracay, Palawan, and Cebu part of the 25 Best Islands in the World.

Time Magazine also lauded Boracay as one of the 50 World’s Greatest Places of 2022.

In September, the Philippines topped Asia’s leading dive, and beach destination, while the historic Walled City of Intramuros was Asia’s leading tourist attraction at the World Travel Awards (WTA) in Vietnam. 

The series of awards added to the country’s long list of recognitions earned at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hidilyn Diaz spearheads PH team to world weightlifting championships Published November 10, 2022, 12:51 PM

by Kristel Satumbaga-Villar

Philippines’ first Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz banners the elite cast of weightlifters when they see action in the 2022 IWF World Championships on Dec. 5 to 16 in Bogota, Colombia.

Hidilyn Diaz starts her 2024 Paris Olympics campaign when she competes in the world championships in Bogota, Colombia next month. (File Photo)

Diaz will compete in the women’s 55kg class – the same weight division where she won the Olympic gold in Tokyo last year – in the tournament that offers ranking points to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

Joining Diaz are fellow Tokyo Olympian Elreen Ando, Asian champion Vanessa Sarno, world juniors gold medalist Rosegie Ramos, Southeast Asian Games gold winner Kristel Macrohon, and Lovely Inan.

Ando will battle in women’s 59kg, Sarno and Macrohon in 71kg, and Ramos and Inan in 49kg.

The men’s team will feature 2015 Asian champion Nestor Colonia, John Febuar Ceniza and Dave Lloyd Pacaldo.

Colonia will compete in the 55kg, Ceniza in 61kg and Pacaldo in 67kg. 

Accompanying the athletes are coaches Ramon Solis, Richard Agosto, Joe Patrick Diaz and Julius Naranjo, as well as weightlifting president Monico Puentevella and Team HD members Jeaneth Aro and Karen Trinidad.

Diaz hopes to maintain or surpass her bronze medal finishes in the 2015 Houston, 2017 Anaheim and 2019 Pattaya editions, while Sarno and Ando seek a podium finish after both placed fifth in their weight classes last year in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Beating expectations, Philippines posts faster Q3 growth despite inflation

Ramon Royandoyan - Philstar.com 

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine economy managed to squeeze out a modest growth in the third quarter, beating expectations of a slower expansion in the face of boiling inflation.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 7.6% year-on-year in the July-September period, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported Thursday.

The latest reading was slightly faster compared to the upwardly revised 7.5% expansion recorded in the previous quarter. It was also way past market expectations of a 6.1% growth. 

Quarter-on-quarter, the PSA said GDP grew 2.9%, a turnaround from 0.1% contraction posted in the preceding quarter.  

READ: No reprieve for Filipinos as inflation boils to over 10-year high in October

That the economy grew slightly faster last quarter came as a surprise as consumer spending, a major growth engine, feels the heat of sizzling inflation. Data showed household final consumption expenditure grew 8.0% year-on-year in the third quarter, slower than 8.6% recorded in the preceding three months.

Three subsectors that was responsible for last quarter’s growth: restaurants and hotels, transport, and food. The PSA reckoned that consumer spending hit P10.37 trillion in the first nine months, accounting for 73% of GDP.

Consumer spending did all the heavy-lifting while government support fades. Data showed government spending sharply slowed to 0.8% annually in the third quarter from 11.1% in the second quarter. Speaking to reporters, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the national government downloaded much of its spending earlier in the first half of the year. This meant, there were fewer public resources available to spend.

Nicholas Mapa, senior economist at ING Bank in Manila, said Filipinos are likely extending so-called “revenge spending” activities after almost two full years under lockdowns. This, despite an elevated inflation that’s pushing up the cost of living.

“One explanation would be overseas Filipino remittances which may be supercharged by a more favorable exchange rate.  However we believe that consumers are also digging deeper into savings, which unfortunately have yet to return to pre-Covid levels,” Mapa said in an e-mailed commentary.

“For now, it appears that households can fund extended revenge spending activities by drawing down on savings for a little longer however this could increase their vulnerability to potential shocks to income down the road,” he added.

Leonardo Lanzona, an economist at Ateneo De Manila University, shared the same view. “Perhaps people had started hoarding in anticipation of higher prices,” he said.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas had projected in August that inflation would peak by September or October, but the latest data showed that might not be the case. The PSA earlier reckoned price growth would accelerate further in November, as the damage wrought by recent typhoons has yet to be priced in.

Despite the inflation onslaught, the Marcos administration is still on track to meet its watered-down goal. In the first nine months of the year, GDP averaged 7.7%, above the government’s 6.5-7.5% target for 2022.

Domini Velasquez, chief economist at China Banking Corp., said this would strengthen the case for another set of interest rate hikes. The benchmark rate is now at 4.25% and is expected to soar higher as the BSP vows to match the US Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes.

 “It also provides more room for wiggle room for the BSP to raise rates by at least 6% without slowing growth too much,” she said in a Viber message.

Gute Nachrichten für Beitragszahler der gesetzlichen Rentenversicherung: Beitragssatz bleibt stabil

 Rente: Kräftiger Anstieg 2023! Tabelle zeigt, wie viel Geld es gibt

Von: Hannes Niemeyer

Positive Nachrichten für Rentnerinnen und Rentner in Deutschland. Die Bezüge sollen sich 2023 kräftig erhöhen. Eine Tabelle zeigt, um wie viel.

München – Die Rentnerinnen und Rentner in Deutschland können sich nach Angaben der Bild am Sonntag auf eine Erhöhung ihrer Bezüge im kommenden Jahr einstellen. Wie die Zeitung am Samstagabend (online) auf der Grundlage des neuen Rentenversicherungsberichts schreibt, sollen die Renten zum 1. Juli 2023 um 3,5 Prozent im Westen und um 4,2 Prozent im Osten Deutschlands steigen. 

Renten steigen 2023 an: So viel Geld mehr gibt es

Der Rentenzahlbetrag liegt aktuell durchschnittlich bei 1089 Euro. Mit der Steigerung um zuvor genannte Prozentsätze dürften sich Menschen im Westen auf 38 Euro mehr, Menschen im Osten sogar auf knapp 46 Euro mehr freuen. Bundesarbeitsminister Hubertus Heil (SPD) sagte der Zeitung: „Nach den jetzt vorliegenden Daten können die Rentnerinnen und Rentner im Sommer erneut mit einer spürbaren Rentenerhöhung rechnen.“ 

Gekoppelt sind die Renten an die Löhne. Da die Rentenexperten mit einem Lohnzuwachst von 4,5 Prozent für dieses Jahr sowie weiteren Zuwächsen von 5 Prozent für kommendes Jahr und 4,7 Prozent für 2024 rechnen, steigt auch die Rente. „Mir ist wichtig, dass davon auch die Rente profitiert“, so Heil gegenüber der Bild am Sonntag.

Renten in der Übersicht: So viel mehr gibt es ab 1. Juli 2023

Rente	Plus für Menschen im Westen	Plus für Menschen im Osten
500 Euro	+ 17,50 Euro	+ 21 Euro
600 Euro	+ 21 Euro	+ 25.20 Euro
700 Euro	+ 24,50 Euro	+ 29,40 Euro
800 Euro	+ 28 Euro	+ 33,60 Euro
900 Euro	+ 31.50 Euro	+ 37,80 Euro
1000 Euro	+ 35 Euro	+ 42 Euro
1100 Euro	+ 38,50 Euro	+ 46,20 Euro
1200 Euro	+ 42 Euro	+ 50,40 Euro
1300 Euro	+ 45,50 Euro	+ 54,60 Euro
1400 Euro	+ 49 Euro	+ 58,80 Euro
1500 Euro	+ 52,50 Euro	+ 63 Euro
1600 Euro	+ 56 Euro	+ 67,20 Euro
1700 Euro	+ 59,50 Euro	+ 71,40 Euro
1800 Euro	+ 63 Euro	+ 75,60 Euro
1900 Euro	+ 66,50 Euro	+ 79,80 Euro
2000 Euro	+ 77 Euro	+ 92,40 Euro

Laut dem neuen Rentenversicherungsbericht gehe man davon aus, dass die Renten bis zum Jahr 2036 um 43 Prozent steigen, was einer durchschnittlichen Rate von plus 2,6 Prozent pro Jahr entspräche. Das hohe erwartete Plus für das kommende Jahr sei demnach zwar überdurchschnittlich, werde von der hohen Inflation allerdings aufgefressen.

 Für Beitragszahler in die gesetzliche Rentenversicherung gibt es derweil beruhigende Nachrichten. Der Beitragssatz bleibt bis zum Jahr 2026 bei stabilen 18,6 Prozent, für 2027 ist eine Steigerung auf 19,3 Prozent vorgesehen. Laut Heil sei dies „eine gute Nachricht, dass sich arbeitende Menschen darauf verlassen können, dass der Beitrag nicht steigt“.

Neben Beitragssatz: Auch Rentenniveau zukünftig stabil – Minsiter Heil will aber Reformen

Neben dem Beitragssatz bleibt auch das Rentenniveau stabil. Aktuell liegt es bei 48,1 Prozent. Bis 2024 soll es bei knapp über 48 Prozent bleiben, erst 2025 darunter sinken. In diesem Fall greift die gesetzliche Haltelinie, die besagt, dass das Rentenniveau auf mindestens 48 Prozent liegen muss bei einem Beitragssatz, der nicht über 20 Prozent liegen darf. Das tückische: besagte Garntien gelten nur noch bis 2025, ohne eine Verlängerung könnte das Niveau zukünftig weiter sinken. Im Bericht sei von einem Fall auf 44,9 Prozent bis 2036 die Rede. Deshalb will Arbeitsminsiter Heil auch Reformen, „um das Rentenniveau stabil zu halten“.